Why Can't They Get a Quincy Jones Tribute Right?

Missing An Easy Layup

Mar 06, 2025

This past Sunday, the Oscars did a tribute to Quincy Jones who died on November 3, 2024.

And, it was underwhelming. The one the Grammys did last month was a little better — but even that was clunky.

Cynthia Erivo and Herbie Hancock at the Grammys

I wanted to give folks the benefit of the doubt, but y’all did a 4 song tribute to a fictional character — without even announcing or alluding to being close to announcing the newest man to join the ranks of Bond. James Bond.

Doja, Lisa, and Raye preforming songs from James Bond Films at the 2025 Oscars

Don’t get me wrong, I loved seeing Doja sing her heart out in that gorgeous dress, Lisa doing a much better version of Live and Let Die than the one Fergie did [in a performance (and I’m not joking) that still lives rent free in my head. John Mayer’s Playboy article in 2010 is my true Roman Empire, but this is a close 2nd], and I will never turn down an opportunity for Raye to leave an audience who are unfamiliar to her in awe.

But when it came time for the man who was involved in practicly every famous pop-culture era of modern America and touched every sector of entertainmet, they chose to do one song — which is not even the best song he’s done OR the best song of The Wiz — which left the audience in their seats [sans Coleman Domingo, Cynthia Erivo and Lena Waithe — and then later Ariana].

Queen Latifah easing us down this boring ass road.

This isn’t a slight to the Queen Latifah — she did her best with that song, which was not a great choice for her or her range. It was…mid at best. And I say this with so much love for Dana — was Diana Ross not available? Again, not a slight to Latifah, but if we’re going to do a tribute for a man who has played such a huge part in all of the entertainment…why did he get one song and why was it THAT ONE?

Q isn’t new to the Academy either.

In 1968, Jones became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The Eyes of Love" from the film Banning (1967). He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the 1967 film In Cold Blood, making him the first African American to be nominated twice in the same year. In 1971, Jones became the first African American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards. He became, in 1995, the first African American to receive the academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the second most Oscar-nominated African American, with seven nominations each.¹

He composed about 40 Film scores!² We couldn’t get an orchestral tribute with scenes of the films they’re from? A sexy little scene from The Italian Job, cut to a gorgeous Steven Spielberg shot from The Color Purple? The Slap scene from In The Heat of the Night? Nothing? Just one song from one of the films he was a part of, that hardly THAT audience knew.

Sigh.

Still from the film Ray with Jamie Fox and Lorenz Tate + real photo of Ray Charles and Quincy in their youth

Quincy was friends with Ray Charles — having met when they were young and unknown. We could have used the scene in the Ray film. Have a trumpeter come out and remind folks what a talent on the horn he was.

Cut to reminding folks he was a premier conductor with footage of him in the studio making scores we all heard and maybe didn’t know he did. Cause I KNOW you’ve heard this song. Jesus….what a fumble.

Show some footage of him being Frank Sinatra’s conductor.

Cut to a bunch of people saying they were discovered or mentored by him and then Will Smith saying he forced him to audition for the Fresh Prince — while at a party!

A still from The Color Purple with Whoopie and Oprah + Q with Will on the Fresh Prince set

Want to show how big his influence is? Do something like this tribute the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame did for Jay-Z (trigger warning: Diddy)!

ANYTHING but ONE song from his long and illustrious career. He touched everything — the whole entertainment industry and he has a story for everything.

Hell, he’s an EGOT.

People walk away from one conversation with him feeling like they just sat at the feet of a genius. Cause they did.

That tribute wasn’t fitting of the Giant we lost. And it definitely didn’t deserve to be in the shadows of a fictitious character.